#nestorians

[jamesbeanblog]

The Three Most Impressive Books on Christianity I've Seen in a Very Long Time

The Lost Religion of Jesus: Simple Living and Nonviolence in Early Christianity, by Keith Akers: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Religion-Jesus-Nonviolence-Christianity/dp/1930051263/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1586105021&sr=8-1 

Disciples: How Jewish Christianity Shaped Jesus and Shattered the Church, by Keith Akers: https://www.amazon.com/Disciples-Jewish-Christianity-Shaped-Shattered/dp/1937002500/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=keith+akers&qid=1586105064&sr=8-3 

Early Christian Mystics, by Alphonse Mingana: https://www.amazon.com/Early-Christian-Mystics-Alphonse-Mingana/dp/B00262PUW8/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=early+christian+mystics+mingana&qid=1586104976&sr=8-6 

[aztec-religion]

The Theology of the Church of the East has been stated briefly and clearly in the following “Hymn of Praise  (TESHBOKHTA)”  Composed by Mar Babai the Great in the sixth century A.D.,   a noted theologian of the Church

One is Christ the Son of God, Worshiped by all in two natures; In His Godhead begotten of the Father, Without beginning before all time; In His humanity born of Mary, In the fullness of time, in a body united; Neither His Godhead is of the nature of the mother, Nor His humanity of the nature of the Father; The natures are preserved in their Qnumas*, In one person of one Sonship. And as the Godhead is three substances in one nature, Likewise the Sonship of the Son is in two natures, one person. So the Holy Church has taught.

* Qnuma, is an Aramaic word. The nearest equivalent is the Greek “hypostasis”, in Latin “substantia” and in English “substance”.

[rhianna]

A Fugitive Sect in Egypt

In Antioch and Greek speaking Syria persecution did its work effectually and the Nestorians were reduced to the position of a fugitive sect, in Egypt, as might be expected, they had no footing, and the westerns as usual agreed with the dominant state church: only amongst the Syriac speaking Christians the Nestorian teaching had a free course, and that section for the most part adhered to it.   [31]

Source:   Arabic Thought and Its Place in History by De Lacy O'Learyhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61593

[santmat]

Blessed are you, 0 heart that is luminous, the abode of the Divinity; Blessed are you, heart that is pure, which beholds the hidden Being. Happy are you, 0 flesh and blood, the dwelling place of the Consuming Fire; Happy are you, mortal body made out of dust, wherein resides the Fire that sets the worlds alight. It is truly a matter for wonder and astonishment…)

Martyrius, from, "The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life”, translated from the Syriac Aramaic by Sebastian Brock

“The Syriac Fathers...” is essentially a “Philokalia” or collection of wisdom-writings of various mystics, in this case from the “Saint Thomas School” of Eastern Christianity. The Thomas branch eventually formed into four groups over time: 1) the Syrian Orthodox Church from Syria to India, 2) the Nestorians, 3) the Manichaeans -- Gnostic followers of the Prophet Mani, and, 4) in eastern China, the Church of the Light, a group that combined Syriac Christian, Manichaean, Taoist, and Buddhist teachings into a most wonderful fusion, as can be enjoyed by reading, “The Jesus Sutras”.

[santmat]

To be pure and still means to be open to purity and stillness -- as a result you can intuit the Truth.

The Jesus Sutras Found in China

In the stillness and silence of meditation, all is revealed, including the Truth. In the Sant and Sufi traditions, "Truth" is another name for God (Sat, Haq). The Jesus Sutras were used by a later generation of those in the Thomas tradition of Eastern Christianity. With their roots in the Aramaic world of First Century AD Palestine, the Thomas community migrated East through Syria/Mesopotamia, Persia, along the Sikh Road, India and China. Their ancestors were given names like "Nestorians", "Manichaeans", and in eastern China, "Da Qin" or "The Church of the Light". The Jesus Sutras represent an amazing fusion of Christian, Buddhist and Taoist teachings. If you enjoy the teachings of Thich Nhat Hạnh, you probably would love the Jesus Sutras.

[thelandofwikipedia]

If Christianity had caught on in China, the Holy Bible might have been better known as the Holy Sutra.

[santmat]

"God's love is not a kind of love which has its origin in events which take place in time." "God's compassion is far more extensive that we can conceive."

The Wisdom of Saint Isaac of Nineveh, translated from the Syriac-Aramaic by Sebastian Brock, Gorgias Press

[santmat]

"To be pure and still means to be open to purity and stillness -- as a result you can intuit the Truth." (The Jesus Sutras Found in China) In the stillness and silence of meditation, all is revealed, including the Truth. In the Sant and Sufi traditions, "Truth" is another name for God (Sat, Haq). The Jesus Sutras were used by a later generation of those in the Thomas tradition of Eastern Christianity. With their roots in the Aramaic world of First Century AD Palestine, the Thomas community migrated East through Syria/Mesopotamia, Persia, along the Sikh Road, India and China. Their ancestors were given names like "Nestorians", "Manichaeans", and in eastern China, "Da Qin" or "The Church of the Light". The Jesus Sutras represent an amazing fusion of Christian, Buddhist and Taoist teachings. If you enjoy the teachings of Thich Nhat Hạnh, you probably would love the Jesus Sutras.